Games that are so bad they're awesome?

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astrodomekid
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Games that are so bad they're awesome?

Postby astrodomekid » June 16th, 2017, 5:28 pm

If you're familiar with films that are considered the worst, you might be familiar with "The Room". I never saw it, but it seems to be the prime example of "so bad it's good" in cinema. So much in fact that it even gained a cult following, and Tommy Wiseau's acting alone really seems to make the film enjoyable even if in a way it wasn't intended. Lately, this got me thinking: what would the video game equivalent be? Which games do you think are so awful that they are actually pretty awesome, and you would still recommend it?

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ptdebate
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Re: Games that are so bad they're awesome?

Postby ptdebate » June 16th, 2017, 9:32 pm

Deadly Premonition and the Resident Evil series come to mind. It's a difficult balance to strike with games, though, because although bad acting and bad writing can be entertaining, bad mechanics are downright irritating. The CDI Zelda games might be a lot more popular than they are if the gameplay had some redeeming value.

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Retro STrife
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Re: Games that are so bad they're awesome?

Postby Retro STrife » June 16th, 2017, 10:17 pm

The first game that pops in my head is Night Trap, which I've played recently and posted a review of in the Now Playing forum. I think it's actually a decent game, and deserves to be played, but it definitely has a very B-movie quality about it.

eneuman96
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Re: Games that are so bad they're awesome?

Postby eneuman96 » June 16th, 2017, 10:52 pm

Big Rigs and Sonic '06.

They both have so many glitches it's a blast to try and find as many as you can and see if you can completely break the game in the process.

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Stalvern
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Re: Games that are so bad they're awesome?

Postby Stalvern » June 17th, 2017, 12:14 am

Sexy Hiking isn't so bad it's awesome; it's so awesome it's brilliant.

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velcrozombie
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Re: Games that are so bad they're awesome?

Postby velcrozombie » June 17th, 2017, 12:27 pm

To be honest, I rarely intentionally buy or play bad games. I love bad movies (Blood Freak and Robot Monster, for example, are two the most entertaining films I've ever seen) and bad art (I've got more horrific Sonic the Hedgehog fan-art saved than I know what to do with) and I appreciate some bizarre or incompetent music (it's harder for me to label music as being bad outright); playing a poorly-made game, however, is usually just a miserable experience. Watching other people play terrible games can be a lot of fun, though - when the guys in Two Best Friends Play were doing a play-through of Ride to Hell: Retribution I couldn't wait to get home from work each day to watch the next video. In fact, I'd much rather watch someone play a bad game than a good game overall - if it's a good game I'd rather just play it myself first.

Alucard1191
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Re: Games that are so bad they're awesome?

Postby Alucard1191 » June 17th, 2017, 9:28 pm

velcrozombie wrote:To be honest, I rarely intentionally buy or play bad games. I love bad movies (Blood Freak and Robot Monster, for example, are two the most entertaining films I've ever seen) and bad art (I've got more horrific Sonic the Hedgehog fan-art saved than I know what to do with) and I appreciate some bizarre or incompetent music (it's harder for me to label music as being bad outright); playing a poorly-made game, however, is usually just a miserable experience. Watching other people play terrible games can be a lot of fun, though - when the guys in Two Best Friends Play were doing a play-through of Ride to Hell: Retribution I couldn't wait to get home from work each day to watch the next video. In fact, I'd much rather watch someone play a bad game than a good game overall - if it's a good game I'd rather just play it myself first.



Not exactly bad games at all, but I prefer to watch the later Metal Gear Solid games than playing them. I don't view the actual gameplay as that strong, especially in the later ones. (Again, not saying they're bad games at all, because they aren't.) But they're much more of a movie that you're playing more or less, so watching them get played and enjoying the story and the style of them is enjoyable for me.

Also, add the Legacy of Kain series to this, much rather watch them on a speed run or something than actually play. (Counting Soul Reaver in here as well.) That series has a lot of style, flair, and a pretty good story between all the various games... but none of them have strong gameplay at all. (The critic gave the first one a D recently... and I have to agree with that assessment. No game in that series to me is worthy of more than a C-C+... but they have great style and story.)

Anyway, rambling point aside, I agree with you that some games, especially bad ones, are more enjoyable to watch than play yourself.

mbd36
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Re: Games that are so bad they're awesome?

Postby mbd36 » June 18th, 2017, 9:51 am

Bad Street Brawler is terrible in a laughable sort of way. What other game do you get to grope midgets to death? The Critic should definitely review this one. He thought that Target Renegade was bad...

Tron
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Re: Games that are so bad they're awesome?

Postby Tron » June 18th, 2017, 10:34 am

Art of Fighting (Neo Geo)

Came out within a year, maybe two, after Street Fighter II. Awesome graphics, character models, largest on screen up until that point. Game scales in and out due to the large fighters and does an excellent job of it at that. I loved the cast in this game. No weird monsters or creatures, (thinking of Blanka), just people.

With all the positives the controls on this game are awful. Special moves are extremely powerful and important, but executing them is a headache. The fireball move is the same motion as Street Fighter II so it should be easy to pull off, right? Well it's not. The collision detection is really bad too. The balance or fairness of the game is really off too. Several hits by the player equates to the same damage as one hit by the later computer controlled characters.

I've always been fascinated by this game and still play it on an emulator once in awhile. I still haven't beaten the game after playing it and trying to beat it for 25 years.

goldenband
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Re: Games that are so bad they're awesome?

Postby goldenband » June 18th, 2017, 11:05 am

I think FMV games are a goldmine of this kind of stuff: Night Trap, Fahrenheit, Crime Patrol, Tomcat Alley, Plumbers Don't Wear Ties (which is more of a "no-motion non-video not-game")...the bad acting and (deliberate?) corniness are more than half the fun.

Some games that are infamous for being bad I kind of enjoy, like Bokosuka Wars, Sword of Sodan, and even some of the minigames in Action 52. But what I enjoy is the process of mastering them, not their badness (real or alleged).

It's harder to think of a game that I enjoy specifically because of its crappiness, but I guess something really glitchy like Big Rigs (though I haven't played it) would be the answer.

Or maybe really trashy pirates like Super Boy 1, the bootleg MSX/Master System port of Super Mario Bros., which has insane physics and hilarious end-of-level announcements ("SORRY NOTHING").


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